After reading this passage, I’ve come to understand McLuhan’s intent in using the word “massage” instead of message to describe media. His play on the words suggests that contemporary masses use mainstream media as a way of soothing and temporarily providing themselves with pleasure. This pleasure, however, is deceiving because it is temporary and because advancing technology creates these gaps between itself and the rate of progression of society. McLuhan states, “all media are extensions of some human faulty psychic or physical–“, meaning that all media in a way are our capabilities just on a greater scale; books are an extension of the eye, which helps us to take in more information; clothing is an extension of the skin, which provides protection and shelter for whats underneath. It’s interesting how McLuhan makes this comparison because it makes you think about how each type of media is catered to each of our senses, and therefore, which can be most influenced by that media. He basically refers to how media isn’t something we just use but has become a part of how we function as human beings. Today, when we look to our dependence on smartphones, the way they extend our memories (notes, reminders, and photos), our social lives (texting, calling, etc.), we witness just how ingrained they are in our lives and senses, continuing to blur the line between human and technology.